Departmental Mobile Phones

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how much has been spent on  (a) the purchase of and  (b) bills for (i) BlackBerrys and (ii) other mobile telephones for (A) Ministers, (B) special advisers and (C) civil servants in the Government Equalities Office in each year since its establishment.

Michael Jabez Foster: The Government Equalities Office was established on 12 October 2007. Since then there have been no purchases of BlackBerrys or mobile phones for Ministers or special advisers. Details of purchases of BlackBerrys and mobile phones for civil servants and the associated bills are provided in the following tables:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Purchases  Bills 
			  2007-08 (October to March)   
			 BlackBerrys 1,434 (1)0 
			 Mobile Phones 504 (1)108 
			 Total 1,938 108 
			
			  2008-09   
			 BlackBerrys 2,168 — 
			 Mobile Phones 204 — 
			 Total 2,372 (2)4,030 
			 (1) Purchases of mobile handsets were made towards the end of the financial year therefore payment of bills did not commence until April/May 2008. Some bill payments were made to owners of existing mobile handsets. (2) All bills are grouped together onto one monthly invoice which makes it difficult to separate individual charges for BlackBerrys and mobiles.

Capacitybuilders: Tamworth

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what funding Capacitybuilders has provided to charitable organisations active in Tamworth constituency in the last 12 months.

Angela Smith: There have been no direct awards from Capacity builders to charitable organisations active in Tamworth in the last 12 months, however, Capacitybuilders have made two awards to the Staffordshire Consortium, one of whose members is the Tamworth Council for Voluntary Service, which will benefit from this funding. The first award was a Consortium Development grant of £52,000 in 2008-09. The second was a modernisation programme grant of £41,596 in 2008-09 to ensure common standards and access across the nine volunteer centres in the district, which is work being led by Tamworth CVS.

Future Builders: Tamworth

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many loans of each type have been provided by the Future Builders programme in Tamworth constituency since the scheme began.

Angela Smith: To date, Futurebuilders England has not invested in Tamworth. However, more widely, Futurebuilders has invested over £4 million in 16 organisations in the west midlands.

Olympic Games 2012: Facilities

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what her most recent estimate is of the cost of hosting the London 2012 Olympic sailing events at Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour.

Tessa Jowell: The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has responsibility for staging the Olympic and Paralympic games including at existing venues.
	The enhanced facilities at Weymouth and Portland Harbour, completed in November 2008, is the first of the Olympic and Paralympic venues to be completed, and will have already delivered an early legacy of world-class facilities for elite athletes and the local community to use well ahead of 2012.
	These enhanced facilities were constructed by the Olympic Delivery Authority ahead of schedule and within the overall approved budget of £9.2 million.
	The direct costs associated with staging the events at Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour come from LOCOG's revenues which are primarily derived from commercial sponsorship, broadcast rights, ticket sales and merchandising/licensing—not from the public purse.
	There will be attributable costs to the public purse from London 2012 venues, including Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour. However, these costs such as in security and transport systems have not yet been identified separately for individual events and will form part of the overall security and transport budgets.

Climate Change

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of his Department's potential gross  (a) costs and  (b) savings arising from its climate change adaptation measures in the next three years.

Joan Ruddock: It is not currently possible to provide estimates of the potential costs and savings over the next three years. It has, however, been shown in the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change that timely and well-targeted climate adaptation measures will yield benefits in excess of their costs. The main rationale for investment to address climate risk will be to reduce the UK's vulnerability to longer-term climate change impacts.
	The Government are undertaking a Climate Change Risk Assessment and Economic Analysis, which will provide estimates of the costs and benefits of adaptation to the UK. This analysis will be presented to Parliament within three years of the Climate Change Act coming into force.
	As you are aware, the Government will also be publishing supplementary appraisal guidance this summer. This will help to ensure that adaptation measures are designed and implemented in a cost-effective manner.

Departmental Billing

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many and what proportion of invoices his Department has paid within 10 days of receipt in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The number and proportion of invoices paid within 10 days of receipt since the inception of the Department on 3 October 2008 are as follow:
	
		
			   Invoices 
			   Number  Percentage 
			 November 2008 388 73 
			 December 2008 568 88 
			
			 January 2009 657 98 
			 February 2009 571 99 
			 March 2009 709 96 
			 April 2009 606 98 
			 May 2009 725 97 
		
	
	The data for October 2008 is not available.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to respond to the hon. Member for Billericay's letters of 13 March, 23 April and 25 May 2009 on his constituent Mr A Bridgen.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 18 June 2009
	I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member, and a reply from my Noble colleague, Lord Hunt, will be issued shortly.

Police Service of Northern Ireland: Recruitment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps the Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI) is taking to increase the number of Catholic recruits to the PSNI.

Paul Goggins: That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Written Questions

Greg Knight: To ask the Leader of the House what steps she intends to take to improve the system of written Parliamentary questions in the House.

Barbara Keeley: My right hon. Friend and I keep the issue of written parliamentary questions under constant review and we await with interest the report of the right hon. Gentleman's committee.

Madeleine McCann

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government has made any representations to the Portuguese authorities on pursuing its investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in the last six months.

Chris Bryant: Our embassy in Lisbon has continued to raise the case with the Portuguese authorities. The head of the Portuguese Criminal Investigation Police has made clear to the embassy that he is ready to consider any credible new leads mat come to light.

North America: Embassies

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultations his Department held prior to its decision to transfer the passport issue service from the British High Commission in Ottawa to the North American Passport Production Centre; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The decision to transfer passport services from the British high commission in Ottawa to the British embassy in Washington was taken by an internal Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Consular Programme Board in September 2008. This followed consultation with the high commissioner in Ottawa and the ambassador in Washington, other senior managers in both posts, the consular regional director for North America and the geographical directorate in the UK. The FCO director general for change and delivery and the permanent under secretary were both invited to comment on the board's recommendation and subsequently endorsed the decision.

Treaty of Lisbon

William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Prime Minister's Statement of 23 June 2009,  Official Report, columns 661-77, on the European Council, if he will withdraw the UK's instrument of ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.

Chris Bryant: holding answer 26 June 2009
	As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear in his statement to Parliament on 23 June 2009,  Official Report, column 662, the guarantees for Ireland agreed at the June European Council make "no change or amendment to the treaty, only clarification of what it will and will not do".
	Parliament has decided on the Lisbon treaty. The treaty was debated in detail in Parliament over 25 days; both Houses voted strongly in favour at every stage. The EU (Amendment) Bill which implements the Lisbon treaty in UK law received Royal Assent on 19 June 2008, and the Government ratified the treaty on 16 July 2008.

Tax Credit Office: Correspondence

James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how long on average the Tax Credit Office took to respond to written queries in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [Official Report, 12 October 2009, Vol. 497, c. 1MC.]

Stephen Timms: The information is not available.

Planning: Travelling People

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the 2006 baseline requirement for Gypsy and Traveller pitches is in each region; and what requirement for such pitches for the period 2006 to 2016 has been included in each  (a) finalised and  (b) draft regional spatial strategy.

Ian Austin: There is no baseline requirement for Gypsy and Traveller pitches.
	The pitch figures included in RSSs are informed by Gypsy and Traveller accommodation assessments (GTAA) which are prepared by local authorities and fed upwards to the regional planning body which drafts the RSS.
	The timescale for the delivery of pitch numbers contained in RSSs varies from region to region, but they typically reflect a need over a five year period.
	The pitch numbers contained in each draft and finalised regional spatial strategy is set out as follows:
	 Draft Regional Spatial Strategies
	North-west, partial review, pitch figures being worked up.
	Yorkshire and Humber, full review, pitch figures being worked up.
	West Midlands, phase 3, pitch figures being worked up.
	East of England, partial review, 1,237 pitches.
	South-east, partial review, 1,064 pitches.
	South-west, full review, 1,672 pitches.
	London, full review, 768 pitches.
	 Finalised Regional Spatial Strategies
	North-east, full review, 166 pitches.
	North-west, full review, no pitch figures.
	Yorkshire and Humber, full review, 255 pitches.
	East Midlands, full review, 883 pitches.
	East of England, full review, no pitch figures.
	South-east, full review, no pitch figures.
	London, full review, no pitch figures.

Employment Support Allowance

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment she has made of the merits of exempting terminally and chronically-ill employment support allowance claimants from back-to-work interview requirements.

Jonathan R Shaw: In establishing employment and support allowance, we recognised that there are people for whom it would be unreasonable to expect to engage in work-related activity.
	These individuals are identified through the work capability assessment and are placed in the support group. They do not have to take part in work-focused interviews. People who are terminally ill are also placed in the support group. Whether or not those who are chronically ill have to attend interviews would depend on the outcome of the work capability assessment.
	Customers in the support group may access appropriate support provision voluntarily. I believe that this continues to be the right approach and have no plans for placing conditionality requirements upon them.

Disabled People

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps her Department is taking to assist disabled people to live independently.

Jonathan R Shaw: Independent living is at the heart of the Government's strategy for disabled people and the office for Disability Issues is leading on two major cross-Government initiatives.
	The Independent Living Strategy, published in 2008 sets out a five-year plan for making progress on delivering choice and control for all disabled people.
	The new Welfare Reform Bill will further empower disabled people by creating a new right giving them greater choice and control over certain state funding streams known as the "Right to Control".

Apprenticeships

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the relationship between the level of unemployment and the number of apprenticeships available.

Jim Knight: My Department and that of the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills remain in close contact on a wide range of matters relating to unemployment. Apprentices who lose their placements and become unemployed and claim benefit will have access to all the targeted support offered by Jobcentre Plus to help them move into work as quickly as possible.

Museums, Libraries and Archives Council

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of moving the Acquisitions, Export and Loans Unit of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council from London to Birmingham.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 26 June 2009
	 The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) has advised that the costs of moving its acquisitions, export and loans unit to Birmingham are estimated to be in the region of £350,000-£400,000. This figure includes the costs of redundancies, recruitment and retention costs, some additional staffing and travel costs during the transitional period, and a small amount for physical infrastructure for the new unit.
	MLA has advised that these costs will be met from within its existing budget and that full details of expenditure will be published in its annual report and accounts.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 May 2009,  Official Report, column 1273W, on Afghanistan: peacekeeping operations, when the rules of engagement in Afghanistan were last reviewed; and what changes were made to them as a result.

Bill Rammell: The UK rules of engagement profile for Operation HERRICK was last amended on 5 February 2008. The UK rules of engagement profiles for UK forces deployed in Afghanistan are kept under constant scrutiny with a procedure in place for amendment requests to be sent from theatre to MOD for consideration. In addition, MOD keeps these profiles under constant review to ensure they reflect current legal and policy direction. The ISAF rules of engagement directives are regularly reviewed by Commander ISAF.
	I am withholding information on what changes were made on operational rules of engagement as its disclosure would or would likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 1015-6W, on modern housing solutions: complaints, how many of the complaints made to Modern Housing Solutions originated in each region.

Kevan Jones: The requested information will take a little time to collate and verify. I will write to the hon. Member.
	 Substantive answer from Kevan Jones to Nick Harvey:
	In my answer of 28 April 2009, (Official Report, column 1150W), I promised to provide you with further information on the complaints received by Modem Housing Solutions (MHS) between May 2007 and May 2008 that originated in each region of England and Wales.
	Unfortunately, due to age of the data and changes in the way complaints are recorded it has not been possible to provide the requested details for 2007. However, the number of complaints in 2008, broken down by month and Ministry of Defence housing region is provided in the table below.
	In addition, I have included a table of number of missed appointments each month where MHS has voluntarily paid compensation to occupants in the form of a £20 gift voucher. Unfortunately, it is not possible to break the numbers down geographically.
	
		
			  Month  Housing region  Number of complaints 
			 January 2008 East 39 
			  London 120 
			  North 37 
			  South East 116 
			  South West 105 
			  West 33 
			  Total for month 450 
			
			 February 2008 East 44 
			  London 114 
			  North 41 
			  South East 101 
			  South West 101 
			  West 25 
			  Total for month 426 
			
			 March 2008 East 37 
			  London 98 
			  North 30 
			  South East 108 
			  South West 91 
			  West 18 
			  Total for month 382 
			
			 April 2008 East 63 
			  London 121 
			  North 29 
			  South East 102 
			  South West 88 
			  West 25 
			  Total for month 428 
			
			 May 2008 East 49 
			  London 113 
			  North 29 
			  South East 106 
			  South West 85 
			  West 15 
			  Total for month 397 
		
	
	
		
			   Missed appointments 
			 January 2008 208 
			 February 2008 186 
			 March 2008 180 
			 April 2008 303 
			 May 2008 225

Departmental Billing

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 18 May 2009,  Official Report, column 1171W, on departmental billing, how much his Department's non-departmental public bodies paid in interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 in the last three years.

Quentin Davies: The Ministry of Defence has five service museums classified as executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) that receive Grant in Aid from the Department. During the financial years 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08, no interest was paid by any of these under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
	This does not include any payments that may have been made by commercial trading arms associated to the museums as these are not funded from Grant in Aid and therefore outside of the remit of the Department.

Piracy: Navy

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for New Forest East of 22 June 2009,  Official Report, column 626W, on piracy, how many weapons of each type the Royal Navy has seized from suspected pirates in the last 12 months.

Bill Rammell: The Royal Navy has seized a total of 41 weapons during the boarding of pirate vessels in the past 12 months. These weapons consisted of 31 assault rifles, six rocket propelled grenades and four pistols.

Departmental Air Travel

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 477W, and pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2008,  Official Report, column 741W, on departmental air travel, what distance of air travel was offset by his Department in 2007-08; and what proportion of such travel was  (a) domestic,  (b) short-haul and  (c) long-haul.

Diana Johnson: The total distance of air travel used during 2007-08 to offset travel taken by Department for Children, Schools and Families was 1,790,103 km.
	The proportion of travel is broken down as follows:
	
		
			   km 
			  (a) Domestic 477,167 
			  (b) Short haul 289,996 
			  (c) Long haul 1,022,939 
		
	
	The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created as a result of the machinery of government changes in June 2007. The number of air miles used to calculate the DCSF payment for the 2007-08 also includes air travel for DIUS (former DfES staff only). To separate these data would involve disproportionate cost.

Departmental Billing

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 18 May 2009,  Official Report, column 1239W, on departmental billing, how much each of his Department's non-departmental public bodies paid in interest to suppliers under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 in the last three years.

Diana Johnson: The Department currently has nine non-departmental public bodies. They are independent organisations and records are not held centrally by the Department with regards to interest payments to suppliers under the Late Payment of Commercial Debt (Interest) Act 1998.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Lancashire

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many young people received education maintenance allowance in each parliamentary constituency in the Lancashire County Council area in each year since the allowance's inception.

Iain Wright: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Geoffrey Russell the LSC's Acting Chief Executive, will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Schools: Crimes of Violence

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of schools staff have been admitted to hospital as a result of violent behaviour by pupils in the last 12 months.

Vernon Coaker: The requested information is not held centrally by the Department. However, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) collects data on physical injuries resulting from acts of violence suffered by people at work, reportable under Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995. The data includes injuries to staff resulting in more than three days absence from work, sustained from a physical assault.
	We intend to introduce new requirements on schools to record incidents of bullying between pupils, and incidents of verbal and physical abuse against school staff. We will consult on these new requirements in the autumn. We will also consult on whether schools should also be required to report these records to their local authority, and whether they should be required to record and report these incidents by type where the incident is motivated by a particular form of prejudice i.e. as racist, homophobic bullying incidents. We will introduce the new legislation in 2010.
	The table shows the provisional figures for injuries to school staff involving acts of violence reported to HSE in 2007/08.
	
		
			  Injuries to school staff( 1)  involving acts of violence( 2)  reported to HSE, 2007/08( 3) 
			  Occupation (SOC 2000)  Non-fatal major injuries  Over-three-day injuries  Total 
			 Secondary education teaching professionals 5 49 54 
			 Primary and nursery education teaching professionals 4 13 17 
			 Special needs education teaching professionals 5 28 33 
			 Teaching professionals n.e.c.(4) 12 60 72 
			 (1) Identified by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC2000). (2) Acts of violence are a reportable injury defined under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995. Only physical injuries resulting from acts of violence suffered by people at work are reportable under RIDDOR, physical injuries resulting from acts of violence suffered by members of the public are not reportable under RIDDOR.  There is no category in HSE's coding framework that specifically identifies the violent behaviour of school pupils. The data supplied uses an agent classification from HSE's coding framework that categorises those 'persons receiving care', and this will include school pupils, but may also include social/health care clients or people in custody. (3) Provisional. (4) The SOC2000 handbook provides the following definition: 'Workers in this unit group perform a variety of other education and teaching functions not elsewhere classified in MINOR GROUP 231: Teaching Professionals.'

Pesticides Safety Directorate

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was paid in bonuses to  (a) directors,  (b) senior managers,  (c) specialist and delivery managers and  (d) executive support and administration staff in the Pesticides Safety Directorate in each of the last five years.

Dan Norris: In the last four financial years from 2005-06 to 2008-09 the total amount paid to Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) staff in bonuses was as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			  (a) Directors(1) 15,967 20,467 27,545 12,728 
			  (b) Senior Managers(2) 10,951 3,413 4,866 10,341 
			  (c) Specialist and delivery managers(3) 33,218 51,045 56,615 27,128 
			  (d) Executive support and admin staff(4) 9,293 9,643 7,027 2,666 
			 Total 69,429 84,568 96,053 52,863 
			 (1) Defined here as staff at senior civil service or grade 6 level. (2) Defined here as staff at grade 7 level (includes managers in policy, science, technical and administrative areas). (3) Defined here as all staff in grades executive/scientific officer to senior executive/scientific officer. (4) Defined here as all staff in grades administrative officer and administrative assistant.  Notes: 1. Data for the period 2004-05 is not available due to systems changes. 2. PSD transferred to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on 1 April 2008, and merged with other HSE teams to form the Chemicals Regulation Directorate on 1 April 2009.

Water: National Security

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect on the publication of the Basingstoke Water Cycle report of the interpretation of the national security circular in relation to water assets.

Huw Irranca-Davies: This Department provides guidance to water asset owners and operators on a range of security issues, including the release of information that may impact on the physical security of those assets and on national security. Guidance is generally delivered in the form of thematic Advice Notes issued under the provisions of the Security and Emergency Measures Direction 1998. That guidance is developed in conjunction with the Centre for the Protection of National infrastructure.
	In some instances, the owner or operator of a water asset may decide, on the basis of the guidance, that information should be withheld from publication on grounds of national security. We understand that in the case of the Basingstoke Water Cycle report, the water asset owner has referred to our guidance in requesting that certain information be withheld from wider public circulation.

Acceptable Behaviour Contracts: Enfield

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many acceptable behaviour contracts have been made in  (a) the London Borough of Enfield and  (b) Enfield North constituency in each of the last five years.

Alan Campbell: The number of acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs) is collected by the Home Office through a voluntary survey of crime and disorder reduction partnerships (CDRPs) use of antisocial behaviour tools and powers. The latest data published indicates that over 30,000 ABCs have been made between October 2003 and September 2007, with over 2,958 issued in Greater London during the same period. Currently, data on the number of ABCs issued are not available below regional level.

Departmental Electricity

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the percentage of electricity used by his Department which was derived from renewable sources in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Phil Woolas: The following table provides a breakdown for what percentage of renewable energy was consumed in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08 by the Department, as previously reported:
	
		
			  Electricity derived from renewable sources 
			   Percentage 
			 2006-07 29.6 
			 2007-08 66 
		
	
	The data covers some business areas that are now part of Ministry of Justice.
	Central Government Departments and their executive agencies are required to report performance data on their energy consumption for their office estate annually as part of the Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) reporting process.
	The latest assessment of Government's performance against these targets was published by the Sustainable Development Commission on 12 December 2008:
	http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/sdig2008/

Detainees: Children

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the UK's level of compliance with the standards for the detention of children established by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in respect of immigration removal centres.

Phil Woolas: Detention of children takes place because of the desire not to separate children from parents who have flagrantly abused the immigrations laws. The detention of children under Immigration Act powers complies with the requirements of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
	A statutory Code of Practice for Keeping Children Safe from Harm was introduced in January and sets out the key principles governing how the Agency treats children, especially in detention. The Code is due to be replaced by a statutory duty to have regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of the children in the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill.

Entry Clearances

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations his Department has received from the English Language Training sector regarding visa regulations.

Phil Woolas: UKBA has recently received the letter from the Member for Torbay addressed to myself, enclosing correspondence from one of the Member's constituents who runs an English language school, and expressing concerns about the impact of the new student visa arrangements upon the business of language schools in the Torbay area and on the UK economy. I will be replying to that letter in the near future.
	UKBA has received no other recent representations from the English language education sector on visa arrangements, aside from queries about the operation of the new system from individual providers. This sector was fully consulted during the development of the proposals which have led to the introduction of the PBS Tier 4 immigration provisions for students, and the student visitor provisions, and is represented at the regular meetings of UKBA's Joint Education Taskforce (JET), where all aspects of the provisions continue to be discussed.

East of England: Health Services

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when the Suffolk Primary Care Trust was informed of the intention of the East Anglian Strategic Health Authority to cease the current procedures of pre-hospital thrombolysis;
	(2)  what reasons no public consultation took place on the decision of the East of England Health Authority to withdraw emergency heart services from Ipswich Hospital.

Phil Hope: This is a matter for the East of England Strategic Health Authority. We understand that the proposal to create heart attack centres in the east of England were subject to public consultation on as part of Towards the best, together from 6 May 2008 to 4 August 2008. These proposals in Towards the best, together were put forward by clinicians working in the national health service in the east of England region, and involved eight clinical work-streams involving around 200 clinicians (with representatives from every NHS organisation in the region), stakeholders, and patients in drawing up the proposals. The proposals were the result of taking the best clinical evidence and applying it to provide the best health service for the people of the east of England.
	The consultation directly engaged more than 6,000 people and the public gave 90 per cent. approval to create four specialist heart attack centres. Staff saw them as the one of the most important changes to acute services in the vision, second only to a guaranteed future for all acute trusts, including Ipswich.
	The Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JOSC) for the east of England scrutinised the proposals made as part of the Towards the best, together consultation. Following the Towards the best, together consultation, the NHS discussed with the OSCs the plans for implementing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PPCI) across the region and it was agreed that further consultation was not required as the changes were in line with those already consulted on in Towards the best, together.
	The decision on the four specialist centres to deliver PPCI in the east of England was made by the East of England Specialised Commissioning Group. The East of England Specialised Commissioning Group is a committee comprising representatives of all of the 14 primary care trusts (PCTs) in the east of England, including Suffolk PCT, and is a sub-committee of their Boards.

Food Standards Agency: Public Appointments

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what stage has been reached in the process of appointing a new Chair of the Food Standards Agency; and when he expects the successful candidate to take up the post.

Gillian Merron: The position of Chair of the Food Standards Agency is appointed jointly by the Secretary of State for Health and Health Ministers in the devolved Administrations. The role was advertised in March 2009 for a period of four weeks. The application window closed on 14 April. The selection panel shortlisted the applications in May and interviewed candidates in June. Ministers considered the panel's recommendations and agreed the Noble Lord Jeffery Rooker as the preferred candidate.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has invited the House of Commons Health Select Committee to scrutinise the preferred candidate prior to appointment.
	The process, run by the Appointments Commission, is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and has been conducted in accordance with Commissioner's Code of Practice for Public Appointments, involving an independent assessor at all stages including shortlisting and interview panel.

Hospitals: Admissions

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital admissions there have been for  (a) male and  (b) female patients aged (i) under 14, (ii) 14 to 17 and (iii) 18 or more years old with diagnosis code (A) K70.0, (B) K70.1, (C) K70.2, (D) K70.3, (E) K70.4, (F) K70.5, (G) K 70.6, (H) K70.7, (I) K70.8 and (J) K70.9 in (1) each region and (2) each primary care trust in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: A copy of the requested information has been placed in the Library.
	On advice from the NHS Information Centre for health and social care (Information Centre) data by primary care trust (PCT) has not been given, instead data have been given by strategic health authority (SHA). This is because the small number of patients at PCT level requires that all of the data for the 14 to 17 age group and the majority of the 18 and over age group would have to be suppressed, to prevent any identification of individuals, which means that the data which could be supplied would be meaningless.
	Additionally, the Information Centre has advised that SHA data be used instead of Government office region (GOR) data. SHAs have very similar boundaries to GOR, with the exception of South East Coast SHA and South Central SHA, which are together aggregated to South East GOR.
	It should be noted that after 2005-06 the SHA configurations changed, with the 28 SHAs merging to form 10 larger SHAs. No data has been given for K70.5, K70.6, K70.7 and K70.8 as these diagnosis codes are not used. Additionally, the number of admissions does not represent the number of patients as one patient may have been admitted more than once.

Osteoporosis: Health Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in implementing the osteoporosis diagnosis and prevention scheme provided for in the Primary Medical Services (Directed Enhanced Services) (England) (Amendment) Directions 2009.

Mike O'Brien: The two-year clinical Directed Enhanced Service (DES) for Osteoporosis was brought in to cover the period April 2008 to March 2010 following agreement reached between the British Medical Association (BMA) and NHS Employers (on behalf of the Government) and announced in September 2008. Subsequently, joint guidance was issued to general practitioner (GP) practices and primary care trusts (PCTs) in the same month to enable GP practices choosing to take up the DES to begin working on delivering the agreed specification, with the Directions amending GP contractual arrangements issued in February 2009. These arrangements were supported by further guidance issued jointly by the BMA and NHS Employers in the same month.
	Financial data from PCTs indicates that PCTs have made some achievement payments in 2008-09 against the delivery by general practice of this DES, with greater reward available against achievement expected in 2009-10. Discussions about contractual arrangements applying to GP practices for 2010-11 and beyond are currently ongoing.

Thalidomide

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he plans to compensate those who have suffered adverse effects as a consequence of drugs prescribed by the NHS before the provisions of the Medical Safety Act 1968 came into effect;
	(2)  if he will bring forward measures for the financial compensation of thalidomiders whose mothers were prescribed thalidomide by the NHS.

Gillian Merron: Thalidomide victims are compensated through a private settlement, which was agreed between the Thalidomide Trust, which was established to administer annual payments to victims, and Distillers, which is now part of Diageo plc., the company that marketed the drug in the United Kingdom. Compensation payments are therefore a matter for the Thalidomide Trust and Diageo plc.
	It is the Department's policy not to make ex-gratia payments to patients who believe their health has been adversely affected by the use of pharmaceutical products. Responsibility rests with the pharmaceutical company concerned.
	Responsibility for the testing of thalidomide, including tests to assess its safety, lies with Chemie Grünenthal, the original developer of the drug. In the United Kingdom, Distillers also undertook testing on thalidomide before its introduction to the UK market.
	Prior to the Thalidomide tragedy, there was no formal drug regulation system in place to monitor the safety of medicines in the UK. As a result of the tragedy, a complete review of the machinery for marketing, testing and regulating drugs was initiated, including enactment of the Medical Act 1968, which introduced stricter testing for medicines prior to licensing to ensure that they meet acceptable standards of safety and efficacy.

Colin Matthews and BAA

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on what dates since 1 January 2007  (a) the Secretary of State,  (b) other Ministers and  (c) officials in his Department have (i) met and (ii) had discussions with (A) Colin Matthews and (B) BAA.

Ian Lucas: holding answer 19 May 2009
	My right hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness, the then Secretary of State for BERR, met Sir Nigel Rudd on 28 November 2007 and 13 March 2008. My noble Friend, Lord Jones of Birmingham, the then Minister for Trade and Investment met Sir Nigel Rudd on 30 April 2008. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Competitiveness and Small Business met Colin Matthews on 1 May 2009. Officials also met a representative from BAA on 21 October 2008, and had further discussions with BAA prior to each ministerial meeting shown above.

Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people under the age of 16 years have been issued with a penalty notice for disorder for each category of offence for which such notices are issued.

Jack Straw: PNDs for young persons under the age of 16 were piloted for a year from July 2005 in six police force areas (Merseyside, Lancashire, Essex, Nottingham, west midlands (including West Midlands British Transport Police) and the Metropolitan Police (Kingston Division)). The most recent published data on the number of PNDs issued, by area and offence from the pilots are set out in the following tables.
	The evaluation report on penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) for 10 to 15-year-olds was published on 5 November 2008. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House.
	
		
			  Number of PNDs issued correctly by force and offence type (July 2005 to June 2006) 
			   Lancashire  Merseyside  Metropolitan police  Nottinghamshire 
			  £40 penalty 
			 Wasting police time 23 11 0 2 
			 Improper use of electronic communication 4 5 0 2 
			 Knowingly giving false alarm to the fire brigade 4 1 0 0 
			 Causing harassment, alarm or distress 388 713 0 44 
			 Throwing fireworks 8 23 0 1 
			 Drunk and disorderly 144 113 0 3 
			 Selling alcohol to under 18s 3 0 0 0 
			 Buying alcohol for person under 18 0 1 0 1 
			 Purchasing alcohol for consumption in licensed premises 0 1 0 0 
			 Delivering alcohol to person under 18 or allowing such delivery 0 1 0 0 
			 Destroying or damaging property (under £500) 566 757 2 27 
			 Theft (retail under£200) 453 579 2 15 
			 Possession of a category 4 firework 1 1 0 0 
			 Possession by a person under 18 of an adult firework 1 8 0 3 
			  
			  £30 penalty 
			 Trespassing on railways 4 6 0 0 
			 Throwing stones at a train 0 1 0 0 
			 Drunk in highway 18 34 0 0 
			 Drinking alcohol in designated public place 21 7 0 0 
			 Depositing and leaving litter 12 23 0 5 
			 Buying or attempting to buy alcohol by a persons under 18 2 11 0 0 
			  
			 Force total 1,652 2,296 4 103 
		
	
	
		
			   West midlands + BTP  Essex  All areas 
			  £40 penalty
			 Wasting police time 13 0 49 
			 Improper use of electronic communication 2 1 14 
			 Knowingly giving false alarm to the fire brigade 3 0 8 
			 Causing harassment, alarm or distress 109 26 1,280 
			 Throwing fireworks 2 0 34 
			 Drunk and disorderly 11 4 275 
			 Selling alcohol to under 18s 0 0 3 
			 Buying alcohol for person under 18 2 0 4 
			 Purchasing alcohol for consumption in licensed premises 0 0 1 
			 Delivering alcohol to person under 18 or allowing such delivery 0 0 1 
			 Destroying or damaging property (under £500) 51 15 1,418 
			 Theft (retail under£200) 70 30 1,149 
			 Possession of a category 4 firework 0 0 2 
			 Possession by a person under 18 of an adult firework 0 0 12 
			 
			  £30 penalty
			 Trespassing on railways 21 0 31 
			 Throwing stones at a train 4 0 5 
			 Drunk in highway 2 2 56 
			 Drinking alcohol in designated public place 0 0 28 
			 Depositing and leaving litter 11 0 51 
			 Buying or attempting to buy alcohol by a persons under 18 0 0 13 
			 
			 Force total 301 78 4,434

Asylum: Tribunals

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many times a hearing at each asylum and immigration tribunal was adjourned for each reason for adjournment, in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: For the financial year 2008-09, 12,063 substantive Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) hearings were adjourned from a total of 126,541 substantive hearings. The following table details the reasons for each adjournment.
	The table includes a significant number of cases adjourned for a further reconsideration hearing. Once a reconsideration application has been granted, there is a first stage hearing to ascertain whether an error in law has occurred. If a material error of law is found, the case is officially 'adjourned', and there is a second stage hearing after which the AIT substitutes a fresh decision to allow or dismiss the appeal.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of adjournments at substantive hearing, by reason and case type for financial year 2008-09 
			  All AIT substantive hearings 
			   Case type  
			  Adjournment reason  Asylum  Immigration out of country ECO  Immigration in country MM  Visit visa  Deport appeal  Human rights etc.( 1)  Total 
			 Appellant sick 85 38 127 15 2 2 269 
			 Other reason given for Appellants non attendance 48 50 71 67 1 3 240 
			 Non appearance by witness 56 123 81 161 1 3 425 
			 Appellant's documents missing 55 117 79 109 0 0 360 
			 Awaiting withdrawal confirmation from Appellant/Representative 3 6 6 0 0 0 15 
			 Appellant has been unable to find a Representative 19 8 25 2 0 0 54 
			 Appellant has not instructed a Representative 15 37 11 5 0 0 68 
			 Appellant requires all female/male court 2 0 2 0 0 0 4 
			 Appellant not brought from Detention Centre 5 0 67 0 1 0 73 
			 Non appearance by Presenting Officer 21 34 28 2 0 2 87 
			 Home Office have not complied with directions 89 124 80 94 0 3 390 
			 Home Office documents missing 121 453 122 251 1 6 954 
			 Defective removal notice 2 0 4 1 0 0 7 
			 Home Office reconsidering their decision 23 22 75 2 0 6 128 
			 Pending confirmation from Home Office of withdrawal by Appellant 0 4 7 1 0 0 12 
			 Transcript/tape n/a or distorted 10 4 7 0 0 0 21 
			 Home Office file/bundle not received 21 108 13 47 0 1 190 
			 Immigration Judge sick or fails to attend 8 15 5 30 0 0 58 
			 Immigration Judge not available 10 37 6 51 0 0 104 
			 Interpreter sick 3 0 0 2 0 0 5 
			 Other reason given for interpreters non attendance 8 2 6 1 0 0 17 
			 AIT file missing or incomplete 1 14 7 9 0 0 31 
			 Wrong Interpreter requested by Representative/Appellant 23 6 9 2 0 1 41 
			 Interpreter not requested by Representative/Appellant 6 35 17 22 1 0 81 
			 Appellant objects to Interpreters Religion/Nationality 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 
			 Inadequate interpreter 42 9 5 0 0 0 56 
			 Wrong/No interpreter booked 51 23 18 7 0 0 99 
			 No interpreter available in required language 27 19 6 10 0 0 62 
			 Lack of court time 146 66 101 70 0 2 385 
			 Notice of hearing incorrectly served or not served 22 80 27 156 0 2 287 
			 Directions not sent to Representative/Home Office 0 11 5 6 0 0 22 
			 Case not listed for the correct Immigration Judge 12 15 13 11 0 1 52 
			 Case suspended 6 21 13 0 0 0 40 
			 Needs a combined hearing 27 24 49 20 0 0 120 
			 List for legal/non panel hearing 36 1 3 0 0 0 40 
			 Reclassified 54 3 6 4 0 0 67 
			 Further reconsideration hearing rule 31(2) 935 569 784 103 0 43 2,434 
			 Court closed 49 110 89 136 0 1 385 
			 Case transferred follow instructions from Immigration Judge 11 21 30 20 0 0 82 
			 Representative Sick 73 60 57 43 0 1 234 
			 Representatives withdraw from case 17 7 16 4 0 0 44 
			 Representative/Counsel double booked in two courts 4 9 2 1 0 0 16 
			 Other reason for Representatives non attendance 38 95 47 49 1 0 230 
			 Representatives instructed late 47 43 52 16 0 2 160 
			 Representative need to supply medical report 133 113 66 3 2 3 320 
			 For further evidence to be supplied by Representative 377 582 454 150 0 10 1,573 
			 Representative has not complied with directions 75 36 60 6 1 1 179 
			 Representative has changed circumstances 11 9 12 5 0 0 37 
			 Other reasons for Representative needing more time 181 216 238 67 2 13 717 
			 New Home Office issue unexpectedly raised 110 224 228 37 3 2 604 
			 Document needs to be authenticated or translated 59 50 33 11 0 0 153 
			 Representative waiting decision on CLR funding 3 5 4 0 0 0 12 
			 Case transferred following request from Representative 3 6 2 5 0 0 16 
			 Total 3,185 3,664 3,276 1,814 16 108 12,063 
			 (1) Includes human rights, racial discrimination and deprivation of citizenship.

Complaints

Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make an assessment of the merits of amending the Data Protection Acts 1998 and 2002 to provide for the immediate deletion of records held by employers of complaints made by them against former employees in circumstances in which such complaints are withdrawn.

Michael Wills: All processing of personal data in the UK must be carried out in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). The fifth data protection principle in the DPA requires that personal data is not kept for longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. This principle would apply to any personal data contained in complaints against former employees, including those that are later withdrawn. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is responsible for investigating and enforcing compliance with the DPA. Any concerns that a data controller is not complying with the Act may be referred to the ICO.

Magistrates' Courts

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average time taken between charge and trial of a defendant tried in a magistrates' court has been in each year since 2000.

Bridget Prentice: Table 1 shows the estimated average time from charge/laying of information to start of trial in the magistrates courts for England and Wales in all criminal cases since 2001. Table 2 below shows the estimated average time from charge to start of trial for charge cases only. Results for 2000 have not been supplied, due to differences in data collection methods and business rules.
	
		
			  Table 1, charge and summons cases, estimated number of days in all criminal cases between charge/laying of information and start of trial for defendants in England and Wales, 2001 to 2009 
			   Estimated time from charge/laying of information to start of trial (days)  Margin of error (+/- number of days)  Number of defendants in the sample 
			 2001 69 1 13,983 
			 2002 65 1 19,888 
			 2003 67 1 21,479 
			 2004 72 1 20,228 
			 2005 70 1 20,657 
			 2006 74 1 19,283 
			 2007 73 1 18,583 
			 2008 70 1 16,853 
			 2009 65 2 9,504 
			  Notes:  1. Results taken from time intervals survey, a quarterly, one week survey, primarily used to measure timeliness in the magistrates courts 2. Two surveys (March and September) have been used for each year, except for 2009 where only March is available 3. Results shown for cases in which start of trial date is provided 4. Results include trials in which a defendant pleads not guilty and is tried summarily in absence 5. Results for 2000 have not been supplied, due to differences in data collection methods and business rules 6. The margin of error is a precision of a result based on a sample survey. The true value is likely to fall within the range of the sample result +/- the margin of error 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2, charged cases only— estimated number of days for charged cases only between charge and start of trial for defendants in England and Wales, 2001 to 2009 
			   Estimated time from charge/laying of information to start of trial (days)  Margin of error (+/- number of days)  Number of defendants in the sample 
			 2001 105 3 4,347 
			 2002 103 3 5,196 
			 2003 111 2 5,765 
			 2004 123 3 5,880 
			 2005 125 3 5,858 
			 2006 126 3 5,854 
			 2007 120 3 5,411 
			 2008 102 3 5,050 
			 2009 103 8 1,321 
			  Notes: 1. Results taken from time intervals survey, a quarterly, one week survey, primarily used to measure timeliness in the magistrates courts 2. Four surveys (March, June, September and December) have been used for each year, except for 2009 where only March is available 3. Results shown for cases in which start of trial date is provided 4. Results include trials in which a defendant pleads not guilty and is tried summarily in absence 5. Results for 2000 have not been supplied, due to differences in data collection methods and business rules 6. The margin of error is a precision of a result based on a sample survey. The true value is likely to fall within the range of the sample result +/- the margin of error